Southwest has overcome the business effects of a fatal mid-air engine explosion in April, CE Gary Kelly said on a conference call Thursday after reporting solid Q2 earnings that sent shares higher. An engine on one of Southwest’s Boeing 737 jets blew apart during a flight in April and killed one of 149 people aboard, triggering a drop in bookings and forcing the company to discount fares to attract flyers. Q2 passenger revenues declined by $100m as a result of the accident, but the carrier said it was encouraged by a solid rebound in demand and pointed to positive momentum going forward, despite higher fuel costs that have hit US airlines’ profitability. Southwest said it was trimming plans to boost seat capacity by about one point due in part to more costly fuel, which it sees rising to $2.25 a gallon in Q3 from $2.07 a gallon a year ago.<br/>
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Ryanair’s rivals smell blood in the discount giant’s confrontation with its pilots and cabin crew and have pitched ‘Hiring Now’ signs in a bid to siphon off disgruntled staff. BA is extending a pilot hiring drive “in light of industry news,” according to a recruitment manager’s post on LinkedIn, while EasyJet has announced plans to add 1,200 flight attendants. Norwegian Air Shuttle, lambasted by Ryanair last year for luring away scores of flight crew, said online that it’s expanding in Dublin. Ryanair said Wednesday it may fire 300 pilots and cabin crew in Dublin as it pulls a fifth of planes from its home base this winter. Chief People Officer Eddie Wilson has advised staff to move to Poland if they want to safeguard their jobs. Airlines worldwide have been grappling with a general shortage of pilots for years, while the growth of the European discount sector is spurring demand for cabin crew just as Ryanair’s confrontation with its employees heats up.<br/>
Flaws in jet engine fan blades like one that cracked and broke loose in April, killing a Southwest passenger, have been discovered on planes operated by several carriers, and the manufacturer is moving to further tighten inspections. General Electric, part of a venture that makes the engines, found a cracked blade during post-accident inspections of another Southwest plane, and spotted four or five more in those of other airlines, Southwest COO Michael Van de Ven said Thursday. “We expect to formalize the interval in a new service bulletin that will be issued in coming days,” GE spokesman Perry Bradley said. Service bulletins are non-binding recommendations on maintenance, but are almost always made mandatory by aviation regulators. Southwest has already cut the inspection interval for older engines almost in half, from 3,000 flights to 1,600, CEO Gary Kelly said. The FAA said in a statement that it’s working with airlines and the engine maker. “As we receive more inspection results we may adjust the compliance time accordingly,” the agency said.<br/>
AirAsia and Malaysia Airports have again engaged in a war of words over the carrier’s forced move to Terminal 1 at Kota Kinabalu International airport (KKIA) in 2015. On Monday Malaysia Airports attributed a 9.4% increase in international tourist arrivals to the state of Sabah last year to the consolidation of airlines at Kota Kinabalu International airport's terminal 1 in December 2015. The operator adds that the move in December 2015 "facilitated growth" for AirAsia, which was originally based at KKIA's terminal 2, as growth through the airport hovered "between 2 to 3% in 2014/15... and jumped to 5% in 2016, 11% in 2017 and 15% for the first half of 2018". AirAsia Malaysia CE Riad Asmat hit back at the airport operator, stating on 25 July that the lower growth in 2014/15 corresponded with a drop in Chinese arrivals due to kidnappings in Sabah, "and has nothing to do with T2". The carrier has instead called on Malaysia Airports to allow it move back to T2, which would facilitate further network expansion into China, South Korea, Japan and India. Allowing it to operate from the facility would enable its Kota Kinabalu base to grow from eight aircraft to 45 over the next decade.<br/>
South Africa’s Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) has cleared state-run airline SA Express to resume flights again, with two of its planes permitted to fly for now, the regulator said Thursday. Citing safety concerns, SACAA in May grounded all 21 aircraft operated by SA Express, which has lost several executive managers suspended over graft allegations.<br/>
A Japan-bound Hong Kong Express plane carrying 230 passengers was forced to return to the airport a little more than an hour after take-off due to a technical issue. Flight UO850 departed from Hong Kong International Airport at about 7am Thursday and was expected to arrive at Osaka’s Kansai International Airport just before noon. But about half an hour after take-off, airport controllers received a request for an air return to Hong Kong and for local standby. This usually indicates a minor emergency involving the approach of a defective aircraft. Firefighters and ambulances are placed in a state of readiness. Live flight tracking on the website Flightradar showed the plane circling twice over the waters off Daya Bay before returning to Chek Lap Kok. The plane landed safely at about 8.20am, and “no airport operations were affected”, an Airport Authority spokeswoman said.<br/>